We may have lost an hour due to daylight savings, but I’m LOVING the longer daylight hours. This week, I’ve got three books to share, a nudge for your notebook, all things JOMO and six links I know you’ll love. Happy reading!

What I'm Reading:

A snowy weekend makes for GREAT reading. I’ve got a page-turning adult fiction book and two fantastic middle grade novels to share. It is Middle Grade March, after all! If you’re looking for a book to invite you into the pages for long reading sessions because you can’t put it down, then these three books are for you. 

All The Impossible Things by Lindsay Lackey

Love can do impossible things and this book reminds us of that in a big way. Red, an eleven year old girl, has moved from foster home to foster home as she waits the 397 days left until her mother is released from prison. Armed with her notebook, the wisdom of her grandmother and hope for her mother’s return, she attempts to find her place within her new foster family. Jackon and Celine provide the unconditional love and stability that has been hard to find and give her hope that she’ll be alright until her mother returns. But when things change drastically, Red has to make an important decision about her future, one that is threatened by her raging emotions that seem to impact the literal wind around her. This book will give you a new perspective, will give you hope and will even give you a little bit of magic, too. 

Omar Rising by Aisha Saeed

I fell in love with Saeed’s previous book, Amal Unbound, so I knew that I would equally love Omar Rising. And I did. Oh, this book. This book is like a warm hug from a loving family, a dose of optimism from unlikely friends and a reminder that hard work and good intentions can change the world. The story follows Omar as he heads off to Ghalib Academy on a scholarship, the hopes of his family and village squarely on his shoulders. But those hopes are dashed when he finds out scholarship students are unable to participate in sports and extracurricular activities, must put in weekly volunteer hours and must maintain an impossible A+ average to stay. Rather than give up, Omar and his stubborn optimism, along with a few new friends, fight back to not only claim his own place at the Academy, but change how it works for good.

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

How well do we really know someone? That’s the question Hannah must answer as she struggles to understand her husband’s sudden disappearance and stay strong for her 16 year old step-daughter. With nothing other than a note left behind with a single message, protect her, Hannah has to untangle who her husband really is, who she can trust and how she’ll protect her step-daughter in the process. Laura Dave weaves between past, present and future and literally writes us into Hannah and Bailey’s hearts. This book will make you question what you know about others, grapple with the heartbreak of losing someone you love and deeply feel the hard decision Hannah ultimately has to make. This was a page-turner. 

What I'm Writing:

Rob Walker just published a new book with Joshua Glenn that sparks furious writing in my notebook this week: LOST OBJECTS: 50 Stories About the Things We Miss and Why They Matter. Since Amy Krouse Rosenthal encouraged her readers to think about objects they’ve lost too, I figured it was worth exploring in my own notebook. 

So, that’s what I did. And I knew exactly what I would write about: my son’s blue blanket. When he was young, we went on a summer vacation and left behind his beloved blue blanket in the hotel. We quickly returned to get it, but the room had already been cleaned and the blanket had been tossed away. We searched, we called the hotel laundromat and mourned that blanket for a long time to come. We still do. It breaks my heart to think of that beloved blanket sitting in a landfill somewhere instead of with my future grandchildren. I know, I know, I’m being dramatic. =) But still. 

What have you lost that has impacted you still to this day?

What I'm Learning:

This week, I’m learning that there really is such a thing as the JOY OF MISSING OUT. I read Tanya Dalton’s book last week and have been putting her ideas to work ever since. I’ve audited my calendar, actually said NO to something that would steal my energy, made a list of weekly, monthly and yearly automations and found some white space in my day. I even refined my personal mission. Here it is:

I use reading and writing to grow into a better version of myself so I can live a life I love with the people I love and help others do the same. 
Stephanie Affinito
Reader. Writer. Learner.

That has a good ring to it, doesn’t it?! What’s your personal mission statement?

What I'm Loving:

THIS. IS. SO. COOL. Discover your creative personality type with this incredibly immersive Adobe quiz. You’ll love it. Once you’ve completed it, let me know what your type is. I’m a thinker!

Did you know the Free Little Library has an app? They do! It tracks all the free little libraries so you can find one wherever you go! 

Did you know The Happy Planner has a craft corner? Take a look at these hobbies-in-a-kit to make your own! I want to try the punch needle. It reminds me of my old latch hook kits as a child!

There are seven types of rest. Which one do you need the most?

I love this new way of making goals based on how you want to FEEL. It’s worth the read and you’ll want to subscribe to Mari’s newsletter, too. 

This makes my reading heart HAPPY! Scholastic has teamed up with Netlflix and the series Abbott Elementary to provide underfunded schools with free book fairs. I’m definitely watching the Abbott Elementary series now!

There you have it! I hope this inspires you to make space for more reading and writing in your own life. What are the highlights from your literate life this week?